Ironhide
"Go chew on a microchip," is Ironhide's calling card. Never the sort who likes to be told what to do, he prefers action to words. He refers to what he considers excessive talking as "leaking lubricant." He's one of the oldest Autobots, probably the toughest, most battle-tested and certainly the orneriest. Due to his defensive capabilities, he is usually in charge of safekeeping anything or anyone of importance, and sort of acts as Commander Optimus Prime's personal bodyguard. His gruff exterior hides his kind inner soul; his concern for the protection of life, whether mechanical or biochemical, extends to the lowliest gasketroid or smallest sparrow. Ironhide's skin is made of a trithyllium-steel alloy impregnated with irradiated carbon fibers, giving him immunity to most forms of artillery and electromagnetic attacks. He is the most nearly invulnerable of the Autobots. His main weapon is what he playfully calls his "water gun." It can shoot a stream of any number of liquids up to 1,000 feet. His choices include supercooled liquid nitrogen, superheated liquid lead, and a petro-chemical fluid that ignites upon contact. He also has sonar, radar, and a radiowave detector. Ironhide is one of the slowest Autobots. Due to his advanced years, he one of the Autobots that breaks down the most, especially in his Nissan Onebox Cherry Vanette mode. His presence breeds dissension among some of the younger, less compassionate Autobots who consider him an antiquated old heap whose contributions do not outweigh his liabilities. Optimus Prime does not share their view. History 'Canonical/Pre-MUX/Theme History:' Ironhide was part of the bridge crew of the Ark when it embarked on its fateful voyage to seek out new sources of energy beyond Cybertron four million years ago. It crashed on Earth, and all aboard were in stasis until 1984, when a volcanic eruption awakened the dormant Transformers. Ironhide was reformatted by Teletraan I so that his alt-mode was a terrestrial Nissan van. In addition to his role in maintaining the security of the Autobot headquarters on Earth, Ironhide would embark on numerous missions to stop the Decepticons on their energy-raiding strikes around the planet. When the Decepticons churned the currents of the river blocked by Sherman Dam to raise its energy output, it resulted in high tides that threatened the surrounding neighborhoods. Ironhide, with the help of Bumblebee, used his built-in laser cannon in van mode to cut a new series of tributaries into which the raging river could flow. Later, when the Decepticons escaped being buried in the Burma ruby mines, a flustered Ironhide took to the air in pursuit. He even managed to score a rocket strike against Skywarp, which only earned him a similar strike in return. Ironhide crash-landed into a lake, where he suffered back-end damage to his linkages. The immobilized Ironhide was fished out of the lake by Bluestreak and Jazz, and he recovered under the ministrations of Doc Ratchet, although he subsequently lost his rare (for an Autobot) flight mode ability. After the Decepticons resurfaced, Ironhide joined a team of Autobots to confront them at the solar power station. During the battle, he took a heavy hit shielding Optimus Prime from a blast from Megatron's gun mode, but pulled through the damage he took to his terminal just fine. He then took part in a rescue mission for Spike, who was caught snooping around the new space bridge. When Soundwave started popping out cassettes left and right, Ironhide did the rare but logical thing and grabbed the Decepticon's arm to keep him from pushing his eject button. While those two were struggling, however, Megatron took aim to finish the job he started earlier at the power station. Prime returned the favor, though, knocking his bodyguard buddy out of the line of fire. During the battle for the antimatter formula, Ironhide was caught in the blast of one of the explosive cubes but, as always, Ratchet managed to piece him back together. After Optimus Prime suffered a debilitating attack and needed a replacement part from Cybertron to survive, Ironhide led the team that recovered the part and escaped Decepticon attack. On a later mission, Ironhide was assigned guard duty while the rest of the Autobots tested Wheeljack's new device, the Immobilizer. Distracted by a visit from Carly, Ironhide soon learned that the Decepticons ambushed Optimus Prime and the Autobots and stole the new device. Blaming himself, Ironhide resigned from active duty, a resignation Prime accepted with some trepidation. While still "retired" Ironhide swam down to Decepticon headquarters to rescue the captured Carly, was immobilized, then re-mobilized, recovered the immobilizer from Megatron, helped save the Autobots, then destroyed the device. His request to be put on active duty again was wholeheartedly received by his friends. Ironhide, together with Sparkplug, proudly watched as Spike went on a date with Carly. Spike and Chip suggested the Autobots participate in a race for charity, and Ironhide voiced his approval of the idea. He and Trailbreaker got to compete to see which of them was bigger and slower. During the race, he and the other Autobots were subjected to Megatron's Transfixatron and were trapped in vehicle mode. Taken prisoner by Megatron, Ironhide was the first to be subjected to a crushing machine built by the Constructicons, but he was saved when Optimus Prime rammed it. After the Transfixatron effect was reversed, Ironhide and Trailbreaker pounded the device into pieces. Ironhide was part of the Autobot strike unit dispatched to Washington, D.C. when it came under attack by the Decepticons and Sub-Atlanticans. He kept clear of the main battle on the Great Lawn, but later helped repair the damage done to the city. He and Ratchet reattached the statue of Lincoln to the memorial, after Megatron had removed it to use the throne. Next, the Autobots responded to an SOS when the super-computer called TORQ III ran amok. Unfortunately, they discovered Torq was capable of controlling other simple machines in the area, and so Ironhide and the others found themselves facing a horde of angry droids. Ironhide apparently didn't think much of the threat —- he calmly walked up to a droid firing a highly pressurized spray at his chest and stuck his finger in the hose. The pent up pressure blew out the back of the machine, destroying it completely. Ironhide was on the scene for the unveiling of Nightbird, Doctor Fujiyama's new ninja robot, when the Decepticons attacked. He was trying to shoot down Laserbeak when a stray blast dropped some girders on his backside. His injuries left him inactive during the search for Nightbird. Ironhide's experience and wisdom often came in handy. After Optimus Prime mistakenly called him "Bumblebee", and a second Optimus Prime showed up on the Autobots' doorstep, it was Ironhide who thought twice about his orders to obliterate the new Prime on sight. When the Autobots' tests proved inconclusive, Ironhide also assumed full command of the team, overruling BOTH Primes until they could prove their veracity. Faced with the threat of a Decepticon deep-drilling scheme and its nigh-unbeatable sentry, Devastator, the Autobots orchestrated a plan to take control of the mighty gestalt by placing dominator discs on each of his Constructicon components. Ironhide helped arrange a diversion at the Decepticons' temporary drilling base in order to draw the Constructicons out. He used a liquid nitrogen spray to freeze the waterfall the Constructicons were using as a natural coolant for their drill. Ironhide accompanied Prime and the other Autobots to the Nova Power Plant, where they attempted to stop the Insecticons from lunching on the nova power. They failed. A high-voltage blast from the hyper-charged Shrapnel nearly overloaded Ironhide's circuits. Inferno sprayed the still-sparking Ironhide with insulating foam and loaded him into the back of Prime's trailer. He was brought back to Ratchet at Autobot Headquarters for repairs. Ironhide recovered enough to join the Autobots in the final battle with the augmented Insecticons at Iron Mountain. Ironhide was normally good-natured, but even he couldn't stand Blaster's taste in music. It almost made him lose his temper with the Dinobots during their "training". Lucky for him, Prime kept Ironhide from leaping headfirst into a fray he couldn't get himself out of. When a chronal disturbance opened up near the library, Ironhide joined the Autobots in investigating. They found a horde of woolly mammoths and barbarians parading down Main Street. Ironhide corralled some of the barbarians with an adhesive spray, then helped send all the mammoths back into the time warp before it closed. He also joined the Autobots in driving the Decepticons off of Dinobot Island, ending the source of the time warps. Ironhide battled Devastator once again after the Constructicons tricked Grapple and Hoist into helping them build a Solar Power Tower. Next, Ironhide worked with Red Alert and Wheeljack on the Negavator project, designing a new super-weapon for use against the Decepticons. The project bunker soon came under attack by Soundwave and his entire Cassette army. Although they failed to grab the Negavator, Optimus decided the weapon needed to be moved. This gave the Decepticons another shot at the Negavator, though, and Ironhide was buried with Prime under an avalanche triggered by Rumble's pile drivers. They had to be dug out by Grapple and Hoist. When it became clear their security expert, Red Alert, was malfunctioning, the Autobots tried to confront him, but he ran away into the nearest city. Ironhide inadvertently assaulted a real fire chief's car while looking for his buddy. Being the old fogey that he is, Ironhide burned out one of his memory chips and suffered some mild amnesia. He relied on Perceptor to repair the broken chip and get the ol' noggin processing again. He soon joined the Autobots in South America to fight Megatron for the Heart of Cybertron. When Mount St. Hilary erupted due to Cybertron’s proximity to earth, Ironhide plugged the eruption by causing an avalanche. Ironhide could be a hothead at times. When humans banned the Autobots from earth for crimes they didn’t commit, the Autobots ended up on a spaceship heading to parts unknown. Ironhide blamed Optimus Prime for their predicament and almost led a mutiny. Prime changed his mind shortly thereafter, so the question of whether Ironhide would have actually tried to overthrow Optimus was rendered academic. They returned to Earth to disrupt the illusion of Megatron's little scheme and, as Ironhide put it, "show 'em a little reality." Several hundred laser-charged rounds of reality later, the Decepticons staggered away in defeat, and the Autobots' reputations were restored. Evidently, Ironhide doesn't pay close attention to his passengers, since both Soundwave and Ravage once hid inside him. Maybe he was taking a nap. He only realized the subterfuge when Blaster and Ravage started fighting in his back end. Later, Ironhide gave Jazz a literal kick start when cybertonium depletion kept Jazz from transforming. The effects of the depletion affected Ironhide himself during the next fight as he tried to shoot liquid nitrogen at the Decepticons. When his hand wouldn't retract, Ironhide froze himself solid. The lack of cybertonium left the Autobots virtually lifeless, but Ironhide and his friends were eventually revived when Spike, Carly and the Dinobots brought back a full stock of cybertonium from Cybertron. Ironhide got another dose of Blaster's music being piped through by Teletraan 1. The serenade was worse than the first, and the Autobots nearly missed a distress call because of it. Ironhide was among the Autobots temporarily rendered invulnerable by electrum, and fought the Decepticons for control of the golden lagoon. Ironhide also helped stop Megatron from taking over New York City with an army of robot car drones. Ironhide went with Prime and a group of Autobots to the baseball stadium where the Decepticons were interrupting the game with their new space bridge. He got a grand slam with a stadium lighting pole against Thrust. When Prime and several other Autobots were launched into space by the malfunctioning bridge, Ironhide took command of the Autobots until Optimus managed to find his way back. When the Morphobots took root on Earth, Ironhide and the team attempted to free their comrade Cosmos from behind the plants' indestructible vines. Ironhide tried a variety of liquid sprays on the Morphobots—the plants briefly crusted over, but cracked free from the chemical resin a moment later. After the Autobots discovered the plants were repelled by Blaster's music, he and Ironhide worked together to clear a path to Cosmos. Once the plants pushed back from Blaster, Ironhide used liquid nitrogen to hold them frozen in place long enough to free their friend. Ironhide led Tracks and Beachcomber in protecting San Francisco when it was being attacked by a giant alien creature. Although severely outmatched, they held out long enough for Omega Supreme to arrive and lead the alien back out into space. When the Decepticons began squabbling among themselves for leadership, Ironhide was ready to jump right into the thick of things. Optimus restrained him, however; instead Prime pitted Megatron against the also-rans, leading to a disastrous fight that left all the Decepticons spent. Even Ironhide had to admit it was fun watching the Decepticons beat themselves up for a change. After Lord Chumley began swiping Autobots off the street, Ironhide was present when the big game hunter declared his terms to Optimus Prime over Teletraan I. Ironhide led another Autobot team to Cybertron to follow Optimus Prime after he left unexpectedly to rescue Elita One. When his team arrived via the space bridge, Starscream announced that he had killed Prime by melting him down in a vat of acid. Ironhide angrily ordered the Autobots to attack and avenge their fallen leader. During the battle, they met up with Elita One's Female Autobots, which gave Ironhide a chance to reunite with his old gal Chromia. Ironhide was briefly seen at Sparkplug's garage after Powerglide's adventure with Astoria Carlton-Ritz. When Megatron took his new Stunticon group to Cybertron in the hopes of giving them life, Ironhide was among the Autobots who went after them in Omega Supreme. When they failed to stop Megatron, the Autobots instead decided to counter him, creating a team of Autobot Jets known as the Aerialbots through the power of Vector Sigma. Unfortunately, the Aerialbots were, well...jerks. Slingshot in particular rubbed Ironhide the wrong way, after the Aerialbots "saved" the Autobots by intervening during their first battle with the Stunticons. The Aerialbots eventually learned their lesson, and Ironhide made peace with Slingshot. Then they were jerks again. Once again, Ironhide was at odds with the little twerps, as they sat in awe of the Decepticons for their ace flying abilities. The Aerialbots learned their lesson (again), and Ironhide made peace with the punks...again. It seemed to stick this time. Ironhide was grumbling about the Stunticons during an appointment with Ratchet when those psychos turned up for real on Teletraan I's sensors. After the Autobots captured the Stunticons in the field, Prime had an idea to disguise themselves as the Stunticons using camouflage paint in order to infiltrate the Decepticons. Ironhide and several others stayed behind to keep an eye on the prisoners, but Breakdown soon shattered the bars and freed his fellow Stunticons, who then sent the Autobots packing as Menasor. Ironhide and the Autobots chased after Menasor to warn Prime that the jig was up, and they ended up arriving at the battle just in time to drive off the Decepticons. Ironhide was also seen applying Corrostop to the Statue of Liberty, and later helped rescue Perceptor from Fox Creek Canyon. When Jazz and Cliffjumper were kidnapped by Starscream's Combaticons, Ironhide traveled to the Amalgamated Water & Power Plant with the other Autobots to rescue them. Wisely, the Autobots completely avoided the war between the Decepticons and Combaticons taking place immediately to their left—they just grabbed their pals and split. After the Autobots received a curious SOS from Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School, Ironhide, Gears and Bumblebee responded. They discovered a science project gone awry—a homemade robot brought to life using the personality component of the Combaticon named Brawl. The Autobots seriously underestimated their opponent, and Ironhide ended up sunk in the floor thanks to his own corrosive spray. Ironhide also had little patience for younger Autobots who thought they knew better than him or Optimus Prime. 'MUX History:' Ironhide is in charge of Optimus Prime's personal security, although in 2012 he operated out of the Ark, assisting rescue operations following the world-wide flood. In 2006, Shockwave attacked a large corn farm in Iowa. He was eventually driven off by Ironhide, but not before stealing enough corn to use in his research into alternative energy sources. In 2014, Alpha Trion and Emirate Xaaron nominated Ironhide and Kup to fill vacant positions on the Council of Autobot Elders. In 2015 He was part of the crew on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Spirit of Freedom. When the Decepticons attacked the Three Gorges Dam in 2016, Ironhide and Jetfire responded, driving the Decepticons back. OOC Notes Luckily for Ironhide, the events of Transformers the Movie aren't canon. Logs/Posts 2009 * December 19 - A Web of Confusion - Slingshot gets to ride the spider, Cuffs knocks Air Raid on his aft, Lifeline does a drive by, Air Raid hits on Trojan, Stormwind cements herself as the peanut gallery, and Ironhide causes a record number of spit-takes 2010 * January 27 - "Look out, it's CLAWS!" - Air Raid gets terrorized while going surfing. Category:2010 2015 * January 21 - "Starscream" - Ironhide passes along Starscream's request for help against Galvatron. * February 17 - "Attack on the Blackrock Oil Platform" - The Decepticons launch an attack in the Gulf of Mexico. * February 18 - "Failure at the platform" - Ironhide reports on the Decepticon attack on a Blackrock oil rig Apr 09 - Brazilian Forest Fire *Autobot spinny! Then it does that flash toward the viewer and spin away effect to fade to Ironhide standing in front of the recorder, arms folded across his chest.* :"Satellite's picked up ah large fire startin' in the Brazil rainforest. Imager and I went to investigate, with Slag taggin' 'long in case it turned out t'be a Decepticon trick.. though iffen it was, they were long gone by the time we all got there. One of the space-farin' Junkions meet us there (Phase-Ar), and there was a Cobra trooper too (Sparta)! But they were clearly helpin' rather than a cause, so it wasn't really the time fer complainin' 'bout it." :"The fire was roarin' strong by then, and closin' in on a rural villiage from a direction that cut off most of their escape means. Good thin' Phase-Ar transforms inta a shuttle! Slag and the snake trooper helped round people up to evac, while Imager was diggin' a fire break and I used some good ol' lead coated smotherin' to keep the forest fire from spreadin' farther. Don't worry, I used the stuff that hardens right out to deprive the fires of fuel, so it ain't gonna get into the envahroment none. Some bots' just gotta scrape it up and dispose of it. :Also had ta rescue some unconscious fella and his dog from one of the buildin's, but that's just part of the job. Slag got some folks that were trapped on a roof, and the snake lady kept folks in order. A chunk of the town did succumb to tha fire, but in the end, we got ev'ryone out with minor injuries and smoke exposure, so all 'round good job kids. Winnin' this war for Earth ain't always 'bout fightin'." :"Grapple, Hoist, iffen ya boys wanna take a few days to go down and do yer thing to help rebuild some housin' for these folks to get on their lives, by all means do so. I want the Protectobots and anyone else with sharp senses to patrol that section of forest, find who or what started that overgrown bonfire inna first place!" The grumpster gives a quick salute. "Ironhide, out." April 14 - "Decepticon Castle Redux" The Decepticons attack Castle Decepticon, trying to get it back from the Autobots. Apr 16 - Castle Decepticon *Amended to Blaster's report. Ironhide is sitting in the repair bay, mostly repaired, though over the course of the recording Ratchet or First Aid can be seen moving through the background, working on those ancient intricate parts that keep the old warhorse running* :"Sorry y'all. Slag an' Ah held the gates long as we good, but the Decepticawns just brought too many unwanted guests to the partehy. Elita, Arcee an' Fireflight disrupted the air forces while Blaster held down the command centahr, but with most of the anti-air guns down from the acid rain they used last time there just wasn't 'nuff firepowah to put in the air. An' ol' Starscream was just too slaggin' slippery fer me this time to pin down! Best Ah could do was keep him from doin' worse to someone else instead of tryin' to off-line me for the upagillioneth time." :"Sure, we lost this time. But ya kids all did yer finest. There ain't no shame in pullin' back when ya know a fight can't be won as is, that's how ya function to make things rawght next time.... An' Fireflight? Thanks fer bailin' out both Blaster -and- my rusty old caboose at the end. Ya really pulled through when we needed ya." :The old Autobot makes a quick salute. "Ya lads and lasses can share a war trench with me anytime. Ironhide, out." *Ironhide gone, back to screen saver spinnies.* July 27 - "Unlikely Talent" Delving into the rough femme's past leads to sparkache 8/21 - "One More Spark to the Call" Into the depths, looking for answers... 2016 Feb 18 - AAR: Three Gorges Dam *Ironhide appears on-screen, arms crossed and looking gruff as usual. There's a huge gash across his chest and he looks like he tanked a few missile blasts as well* :"Late last nawght we picked up a distress call from that big ol' dam they built in China, an' bein' it all way 'round the world Jetfire rocketed us on over there. To the surprise o' no-one the Decepticawns had scared out most the humans and were using the dam to make energon cubes. :Ah jumped in to deal with Valour and Slugfest while Jetfire keep Long Haul from runnin' off with the cubes. After the hefty thrawdahn Valour called a retreat, and Long Haul made thin's worse by pushin' the load of cubes towards were the workers were hidin'. So Jetfire and Ah had to stop those from blowin' slag up instead of shootin' the punks down, cuz y'all know how volatile freshly made cubes can be b'fore they settle. Or somethin'. Wheeljack 'splained it once but Ah dozed off from all the techno-blather. Don't matter, we stopped the Cawns from getting the cubes or hurtin' the workers, that's the important part. Ironhide, out." 2019 Apr 05 - Back On Duty Ironhide's usual gruffy visage graces the screen. "Ah bet you all thought Ah was on the scrapheap fer good this time. Ha! Ah've survived through null and frag ten times over if not more, it's gonna take more than some tincan with a funky sword to do it. Megutron's li'l toy robot ninja just got a lucky hit in, that's all. This ol' warhoss still got plenty of buck left in him!" Long pause. ".. One of ya punks is gonna have to fill me in on what Ah've missed though. Faster to get the gist from some field soldier's vocalize than bother siftin' through all the paperwork, and faster Ah get to makin' up fer lost time on kickin' Decepticans! Ironhide out." Players Ironhide has was played by thirtysilver from 2009 to 2012. Category:active In the meantime, he was temped by Bzero until March of 2015, when he was taken over by Swiftpaw until March of 2016. In 2018, Ironhide was taken back over by Bzero. In 2019, Swiftpaw returned as Ironhide once more! Alternate Universes Cobra World Universe Many years after the Ark had crashed on Earth, the human terrorist organization Cobra discovered it and its dormant crew. The Transformers were reprogrammed to be under Cobra's control and given new alternate modes, with Ironhide and Ratchet now turning into HISS tanks. G.I. Joe World Universe When G.I. Joe discovered the Ark and started reviving the Autobots, Ironhide (GW) was rebuilt into a Hammer. In 2014 (GW), when Falcon temporarily took over the Ark Project, Ironhide threatened to quit the Ark Project and kick G.I. Joe out of the Ark. Sparkplug had to talk him down, and Ironhide relented when Flint (GW) returned and put Sparkplug and Spike back in charge of the program. However, when Code Buster released documents showing G.I. Joe's overreach in global security (to put it mildly), Ironhide did finally kick the Joes out of the Ark, allowing only Spike and Sparkplug to return. For the Joe World TP, Ironhide was @emitted by SpikeWitwicky. Witwicky World In the Witwicky World universe, Ironhide is killed by Insecticons. References * Ironhide @ spencer1984.com * Ironhide at TFU.info Category:Autobot Cars Category:Autobots Category:Autobot Infantry Category:Bodyguards Category:Characters Category:Council of Autobot Elders Category:Defense specialists Category:FCs Category:Security Category:Transformers